Approximately eighty George School parents and family members gathered in Shanghai, China, on June 26 and 27 to hold a meeting of the school’s China Parent Association, hear news of the school, learn about the U.S. college application process, and attend Expo 2010 Shanghai China.

The gathering represented the third major event for the recently established China Parent Association. The group formed in 2009 to help George School parents living in China develop stronger links between themselves and parents in the United States, and find new ways to take part in the George School community.

“I was glad to take part in organizing this event,” said China Parent Association President Qi Gao, parent of Tony Gao ’10. “It was an important event for the George School community.”

Five George School administrators, including Head of School Nancy Starmer, traveled to Shanghai to join the two-day gathering. Held at the Shanghai Hong Qiao State Guest Hotel, the events on June 26 included a presentation by George School’s director of College Guidance, Nancy Culleton. Nancy discussed the process for applying to U.S. colleges and universities.

Also that day, Qi Gao presided over a China Parent Association meeting, and school news and updates were presented by Nancy Starmer, George School Committee Clerk David Bruton, Director of Development Joanna Storrar, and Finance Committee Clerk Andy Steginsky.

On June 27, the gathering crossed paths with members of George School’s Global Service Program trip to China when the two groups attended Expo 2010 Shanghai, a twenty-first-century world’s fair. Tickets to the Expo were donated to George School by Qi, who is chief engineer of the Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning and Design Institute, the organization that designed much of the Expo site. On the previous day, Qi had provided the group with an introduction to the Expo.

“People from every corner of the country are taking the opportunity of the Shanghai Expo to gather and to show the spirit of being world citizens—one that is multicultural, friendly, and creative,” said Qi. The 184-day Expo is expected to attract 70 million visitors to its two square miles of pavilions and exhibits representing 189 countries and 57 international organizations.

The China Parent Association was formally welcomed by the George School Parents Association at a meeting in December 2009 and is one of two new Parents Association groups. A Taiwan Parent Association was initiated by Sarah Lee, p ’11, in 2009.

Costs of the two-day Shanghai gathering were generously contributed by officers and members of the China Parent Association: Gao Qi and Xia Nannan, parents of Gao Yang (Tony) ’10; Zhang Jian and Shi Min, parents of Zhang Jiayou (Isabella) ’10; Ren Gang and Zhang Youbin, parents of Ren Xinxing ’11; Cai Yan, parent of Chen Xuying (Sandy) ’11; and Zhan Hongyu, parent of Wang Haoping ’13.